Dunnes Stores remains the country’s largest supermarket chain by sales with a 24.5pc share of the grocery sector in the 12 weeks to February 22 this year.
However, Tesco is now just behind, with 24.2pc of the market, after increasing its share by 0.3 percentage points and growing sales by 6.7pc over the previous year, ahead of the overall market, according to Worldpanel by Numerator – which tracks consumer data.
Dunnes also recorded solid growth during the period with value sales rising by 4.9pc. The retailer also attracted new shoppers to its stores, who contributed an additional €30m in sales over the period, the report said.
Elsewhere in the market, SuperValu held a market share of 19.5pc in the most recent 12 weeks, down from 20.4pc a year ago even though sales rose by 0.5pc and increased footfall helped generate an additional €33m in sales for the chain.
Aldi grew sales by 1.4pc with a 4.7pc increase in shopping trips helping push its market share to 10.5pc.
German rival Lidl recorded the strongest performance among the major retailers posting double-digit growth for the third consecutive period.
Sales rose by 12.2pc raising its market share by 0.8 percentage points and it was the only retailer to increase volumes which rose by 2.9pc year-on-year, the report said.
The figures come as Irish grocery prices continue to rise. Grocery inflation stood at 6.8pc in the 12 weeks to February 22.
Despite higher prices, spending in supermarkets continues to increase. Take-home grocery sales rose by 4.8pc in the four weeks to February compared with the same period last year.
Shoppers were also visiting stores more often with trip frequency up 5.7pc during the month as households stocked up for several February events including the Six Nations, Pancake Tuesday and St Valentine’s Day, the report said.
Over the latest 12-week period, consumers spent an additional €159m on branded goods, which now account for 50.9pc of the grocery market by value.
Own label brands continue to perform, with year-on-year growth of 2.9pc. The strongest growth has been observed in premium own label, with shoppers spending an additional €8.7m on these ranges versus last year.
Own label brands now hold 44.6pc of value market share, down from 45.6pc last year, the report said.
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